CHAPTER 253: CHAPTER 251 SWEET POTATOES AND GREENHOUSES

In the distribution room of the shelter, Uncle Two and several elders were standing at the door, looking expectantly as Chen Xin instructed two young men who knew electrical work to connect the Isotope Thermoelectric Battery he took off from the car to the shelter’s circuitry.

"Okay, once the red and blue wires are connected, given this battery’s power generation and lifespan, it will be enough to supply the entire shelter for over ten years." Chen Xin nodded affirmatively to Uncle Two and the others after his distant relatives used circuit cables to connect the battery to the transformer in the shelter’s distribution box.

"Can this really meet the power requirements? Just this small battery?" An elder was clearly somewhat incredulous, as the Isotope Thermoelectric Battery Chen Xin brought indeed looked too underwhelming.

Only something the size of a larger thermos, yet it’s supposed to power such a large shelter, which truly surpassed the imagination of these elders who have spent their lives just farming.

However, Chen Xin’s father accepted this more readily, asking Chen Xin: "What’s the output power of this battery? How high is the voltage?"

"500V voltage, 150KW output power, this is a battery for my car, meeting the shelter’s needs won’t be a big issue." Chen Xin seriously answered his father’s question: "It’s just that the voltage is a bit high, it must be connected to a transformer to use it, and it has some danger involved, so extra caution is needed during use. But it’s not a big problem, I’ll make a circuit upgrade later and adjust the connection method, there won’t be any issues."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xin’s father calculated for a moment before telling Uncle Two: "The power is a bit low, but it’s enough for heating. Just be mindful when using other high power appliances, there might be insufficient power."

"Being able to turn the heating on is already great, and what other high-power appliances are there in the village anyway?" Uncle Two was instantly gleeful listening to Chen Xin’s father and didn’t pay much heed to the issue of not turning on many high power appliances.

Chen Xin also heard his father, considered for a moment, and said: "That’s not an issue, this battery is made by me, with car batteries I can modify one out; later, Uncle Two, you can get two car batteries from the town, I can modify a battery pack, then it’s all settled, and the greenhouse’s production can also be increased a bit."

It’s also part of Chen Xin’s plan, to enhance greenhouse output like his own shelter, to yield more produce, and thereby trade for more resources, forming a positive cycle.

"Can the greenhouse’s production be increased?" Uncle Two was particularly concerned about this as the village’s long-term village head and a farmer throughout his life, being sensitive about crop yields.

Chen Xin nodded affirmatively and replied: "Yes, once the power comes up, the supplementary lamps and heaters in the greenhouse can operate longer, thereby accelerating crop growth and obtaining higher yields. Also, I plan to remodel the greenhouse structure to strive to grow more crops here."

Chen Xin’s remarks immediately delighted the elders present. Farming more crops was the most substantial thing for them.

"That’s great, being able to grow more crops is excellent! With grain in hand, there’s no panic in the heart." Uncle Two’s face was glowing with joy, a stark contrast to the overwhelmed look when Chen Xin first returned and saw him.

Chen Xin didn’t make any guarantees, just nodded without saying much. He only had the idea of modifying the greenhouse and had to see it before deciding how to proceed.

As for now, Uncle Two and the others were eager to turn on the shelter’s heating equipment.

With the activation of the heating equipment, the temperature inside the shelter finally rose, and everyone’s face broke into smiles.

Meanwhile, Chen Xin also received a long-awaited system notification:

"Helped others improve living conditions in the shelter, gained 5000 survival points"

"Helped improve living conditions for 4 people, gained daily survival points +50"

Of course, the village population exceeds fifty people, but a single shelter can only gain so many survival points for improving living conditions.

For the current Chen Xin, these gains were indeed gratifying, but no longer particularly concerning to him. More importantly, this method can bring income to him.

Thinking about providing the national Isotope Thermoelectric Battery, Chen Xin couldn’t help but anticipate how many survival points he could gain if such technology is popularized nationwide.

Even though one shelter contributes only fifty points, given the large base of shelters nationwide, this would be astronomically sizable income.

Now the only thing worrying Chen Xin is whether Isotope Thermoelectric Batteries produced by others influenced by him would be recognized by the system, thus bringing him survival point income.

Chen Xin doesn’t have confidence in this issue, but it’s not a big problem. Even if others’ Isotope Thermoelectric Batteries aren’t recognized by the system, he could just produce and sell them himself.

This kind of essential thing, once the country starts promoting it, will inevitably become hard currency. There won’t be any concern about sales volume, and the impact on Chen Xin would merely be the amount of survival points he ultimately gathers.

Moreover, as Chen Xin can provide more products, the survival points he can collect will also increase. After all, while only one survival point can be harvested from any given item, there are plenty of improvements to be made to a shelter. He can fully harvest them like cutting chives, reaping one batch after another.

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The greenhouse in the village shelter is entirely different from Chen Xin’s greenhouse. Although they are both greenhouses, the area here is significantly larger.

Chen Xin could see that this greenhouse was likely built by covering the original farmland, unlike his own setup where soil was brought in from outside to create arable land in the shelter.

Nevertheless, the cultivated area is limited. According to Second Uncle’s introduction, the total cultivated area here is only about an acre and a half, totaling nine hundred square meters.

The nine hundred square meters of land resemble a gigantic grid, with four thick supporting pillars at the center of the greenhouse, and twelve similar supporting pillars along the wall holding up the crossbeam at the top.

Nine hundred square meters of farmland sounds considerable, and the output can be reasonable; but considering there are over a hundred people in the village, this amount of production isn’t much, especially since this planting greenhouse, unlike Chen Xin’s, doesn’t have the capability to keep the grow lights and heaters on twenty-four hours a day.

The single-layer soil greenhouse is also not like Chen Xin’s upgraded multi-layer planting greenhouse, which can achieve vertical growing for higher yield.

The variety of crops planted is quite limited, consisting only of cabbage, radish, and a large patch of leafy plants that Chen Xin did not recognize.

"Second Uncle, what is this planted here?" Chen Xin asked curiously, standing next to the leafy plants, looking at the vines and leaves growing nearly flat on the ground.

"These are sweet potatoes; they’ve been planted for almost four months now and are close to harvest," Second Uncle said proudly and satisfied, just as he had mentioned before — with food in hand, there’s no fear in the heart.

For farmers in Flame Country, these crops, promising an abundant harvest, are the greatest source of happiness.

Upon hearing that they are sweet potatoes, Chen Xin showed a surprised expression, "Is this really sweet potatoes?"

"Hmm? Have you never seen sweet potatoes before, Ah Xin?" Second Uncle was a bit puzzled, sweet potatoes should be common, Chen Xin should definitely have seen them.

Chen Xin shook his head, feeling the vines and leaves of these sweet potatoes with his hand, and said, "Of course, I’ve seen sweet potatoes, but I’ve never seen sweet potato vines and leaves growing in the ground."

Upon hearing Chen Xin’s explanation, Second Uncle simply nodded understandingly. Indeed, many have eaten sweet potatoes, but not everyone recognizes sweet potato vines and leaves.

"You have a greenhouse yourself, right? Want to take some sweet potatoes back with you? This stuff is easy to grow; you can use cut-up sweet potatoes as seeds," suggested Second Uncle, remembering that Chen Xin also had a greenhouse.

Chen Xin did not refuse and stood up, saying, "Then I’ll trouble you, Second Uncle. Although I have a lot of different seeds, I don’t have sweet potatoes."

"It’s nothing. But what main grain are you growing? You can’t just plant vegetables; that’s not going to fill you up," Second Uncle expressed concern to Chen Xin, evidently thinking that planting main grains was essential.

Chen Xin wasn’t worried about this point and replied with a smile, "I’m growing dry rice, which is more than enough for myself. Plus, I have plenty of vegetables, allowing me to trade for various foods. After all, it’s a city there, so obtaining grain is easier than here in the countryside."

Upon hearing Chen Xin’s response, Second Uncle nodded before addressing him, "If that’s the case, I’m reassured. Now, see if there’s any way to improve the greenhouse to increase the yield so the villagers can eat more."

This was what Second Uncle was most concerned and hopeful about. A large portion of the greenhouse is planted with sweet potatoes, and since sweet potatoes need five to seven months to grow, or even four months for short-cycle ones, the villagers can’t say they’re eating enough before the harvest.

"I’ll take a look first. I only have a basic idea of how to alter it, but I’ll have to see it before discussing specifics," Chen Xin said without making any promises, also seeking Second Uncle’s requirements, "How do you think the greenhouse should be handled? My idea is to add a hydroponic layer for planting; this would enable us to grow more crops."

Upon hearing Chen Xin’s idea, Second Uncle couldn’t help but worry, "Hydroponic farming? Is that easy to manage? I’ve heard about the technology before, but no one in the village has worked with it!"

"The technology isn’t complicated, Second Uncle, just listen to me..." Chen Xin smiled, introducing hydroponic farming to Second Uncle.